The present invention relates to a control lever having a knob and an elongated lever part which at its one end carries the knob and at some distance from said end is connected to a mechanism that is to be operated, the knob having an electrical switch.
More particularly, the present invention relates to that type of control lever which has a knob in which an electrical switch has been arranged, which can be actuated manually for changing between different positions of the switch. It is also known to arrange electrical switches in levers, for example a pushing switch which is actuated by hand for switching, for instance, an overdrive gear attached to a lever. For the operation of airplanes it is further known to arrange different types of switches in joy sticks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,424 discloses a gear change lever having an elastically mounted knob. The knob includes a spring element positioned below the contact elements. The spring element is an elastic centering element which requires a very symmetrically manufactured knob and a portion of the lever in order to maintain a clearance between the contact elements in a non-activated position. In practice, the clearance must be disadvantageously large in order to secure a clearance, resulting in delayed contact function. For actuation of a clutch by means of a contact function in the knob of a gear change lever, it is of utmost importance that the activation takes place with a minimum delay after moving the knob for changing gear.
The object of the present invention is to obtain a lever by which a change of electrical condition of the electric switch is obtained automatically as early as possible during an operation.